Student radiographers' attitudes towards the older patient – A longitudinal study

• Published in: Radiography (London, England. 1995) Vol. 23; no. 3; pp. 229 - 234
• Main Authors: Booth, L, Kada, S, Satinovic, M, Phillips, P, Miller, P.K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.08.2017
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Attitude of Health Personnel; Attitudes; Dementia - psychology; Education; Female; Humans; Kogan's attitude towards older people scale; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Radiography; Radiology; Simulations; Students, Health Occupations - psychology; Technology, Radiologic - education; Radiography; Attitudes; Simulations; Education; Kogan's attitude towards older people scale
• ISSN: 1078-8174; 1532-2831
• DOI: 10.1016/j.radi.2017.03.014

Abstract Introduction To design, implement and evaluate the effect of an educational intervention on student radiographer attitudes across their educational tenure. Methods In the first phase, an educational intervention that involved didactic lectures, reflective exercises and simulation suits, aimed at improving student radiographer attitudes towards the older person, was designed and implemented. Kogan's attitudes towards older people (KoP) scale was administrated at five test points; pre-intervention; post-intervention; 6 months post intervention; 12 months post intervention and 24 months post intervention. At the final test point these quantitative data was supplemented with qualitative data for triangulation of the findings. Results Students held positive attitudes towards older people pre intervention, these increased significantly post intervention (p = 0.01). However, this increase in positive scores was not noted at 6 months and 12-months post intervention. At 24-months post intervention, although there was a slight increase in positive attitudes when compared to the 6 and 12 month scores, this increase was not found to be significant (p = 0.178) Conclusion The results post-intervention suggested that an educational intervention can have a significant impact on student radiographer's attitudes towards older people. However, the qualitative data suggests that experiences on initial clinical placement can be detrimental to attitudinal scores, particularly if the intervention does not include Dementia care strategies.